“But I’m not pretending to be your girlfriend.”
There’s a brief pause, and for a moment, I think I’ve won this little disagreement.
“Aren’t you ateensybit interested to see what it would be like to date me?” he asks, a teasing tone in his voice.
I roll my eyes. “Not exactly.”
“I’m incredibly handsome. I don’t know if you missed that part.”
I run my hand over my face. “Carter.”
“Some people even call me the most eligible bachelor in the city.”
I groan, falling back against the couch with my hand still covering my eyes.
He lets out a sigh in my ear. “Fine. If you change your mind, give me a call. I’ll give you a seven-day grace period, because I am not about to go back on TV and announce that my ass got dumped that quickly after declaring my undying love for you.”
“You declared nothing.”
“I mean, I kind of did,” he presses.
I drop my arm. “Not really. You stated a fact.”
“You think Carter Forkerro settles down with justanyone?The whole city thinks I love you now.”
“Your mess, Bub. You clean it up.”
“Oh, look at that,” he says, and I hear the smirk in his voice. “Pet names already, and we’ve only been dating for five whole minutes.”
“Bye, Carter!” I sing into the receiver, desperate for this conversation to end.
“Put me out of my misery, Red. Please.”
“Bye, Carter.”
“Bye,Bub.”
CHAPTER TEN
arden
There’sone hundred reasons why I don’t tell Whitney or Autumn about what Carter asked me to do. The first being that they’d want me to go along with it. The second… Well, all the reasons why I don’t bring it up are tied to the fact that they would force me to agree. For the plot, obviously. They already went crazy when they heard what he said in the press conference. I’d prefer we never discuss him again.
I am not agreeing to something that ridiculous. It sounds fun in theory, but I don’t really have the luxury of fun anymore. Plus, this is also a blatant, obnoxious lie to cover up a crime. Though just, it’s still an assault. I like living my life unnoticed. I go to work, pay my bills, and spend whatever little time I can afford with my friends. I don’t clean up crime scenes in my spare time.
Pretending to date Carter Forkerro would be one big, fat lie that puts one big, fat spotlight right on my face. I don’t want people to know my name. I don’t want people scrutinizing me on social media. I just want to put my head down and getthrough life one step at a time, with as little bullshit as possible.
I sigh at my phone when I see a text from Anya.
Anya
Dad is a stubborn mule who refuses to use his wheelchair.
Sprained his wrist and ankle attempting to take himself to the washroom.
He’s the most stubborn person I know, my dad. He knows he’s sick, but he refuses to listen to the advice of experienced nurses and doctors. He can barely move nowadays. He shouldn’t be doing any of those big walks on his own, but he still tries like he’s perfectly healthy and mobile.
Me
